Bobby Dalbec is becoming a must-play guy in the Red Sox lineup
If you asked me back at the All-Star break if I thought Bobby Dalbec would still be with the Red Sox I would’ve told you absolutely not. Boston’s power-hitting rookie had been a massive liability in the lineup for much of the first half of 2021 but since the Trade Deadline has passed he’s been an absolute monster for Alex Cora’s side.
Many in Red Sox Nation clamored for a new first baseman to be acquired at the Trade Deadline as Boston didn’t have a solution to their problem at the position. Dalbec wasn’t hitting and while his defense was pretty strong, he wasn’t carrying his weight and it was a big issue.
As we know, Chaim Bloom brought in Kyle Schwarber, naturally an outfielder, to learn the position and platoon with Big Bob. Well, that plan seems to have lit a fire under the rookie and he’s been playing out of his mind on both sides of the game since August 1st.
To put things into perspective, from Opening Day through July 31st Dalbec slashed a paltry .216/.260/.399 with 11 homers and 27 RBI in 296 plate appearances, per Fangraphs. Not quite what the Red Sox thought they were getting from the young infielder after he went .263/.359/.600/.959 with 8 bombs and 16 RBI in 92 plate appearances in 2020.
Much like Michael Chavis before him and even Jarren Duran now, it felt like the opposition figured out his weakness and had no issues exploiting it. That’s not the story anymore for Bobby. He may not get a hit every time at the plate but he’s become far less of a concern once he enters the batter’s box.
Since August 1st, Dalbec is crushing the baseball to the tune of .341/.432/.768 with 9 home runs and 29 RBI through 95 plate appearances. With his flipping of the switch recently he was awarded the August AL Player of the Month and rightfully so. It was damn near impossible for opposing pitchers to face him without getting hurt and he’s carried that over into September.
Hell, the Red Sox got slaughtered by the Rays last night and he still went 2-2 with a pair of homers and four RBI off the bench. Further proving that his early-season struggles seem to be gone and he’s not a must-see guy in this lineup every night. Yeah, I know that he isn’t automatic like that every night but it’s becoming more and more frequent as of late and even those nights where he isn’t crushing the ball he’s flashing the leather to balance things out.
Dalbec is the 13th Red Sox rookie ever with 20 HRs. Last one was Benintendi in 2017.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) September 8, 2021
Oh yeah, those two homers he had last night bring him to 20 on the year, making him the 13th rookie in Red Sox history to achieve that mark and the first since Andrew Benintendi in 2017. That’s a pretty damn cool mark to put on your resume and one that is very well deserved for Big Bob.
With just a few weeks left in the season, I’d love to see him continue to raise those marks and get better with each at-bat. Obviously, the rate at which he’s striking out is still pretty high but we’ve definitely seen him battle more while in the batter’s box as of late.
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As I said above, I wasn’t expecting this at all from Bobby and really thought that he’d be back in Worcester after the Trade Deadline. With all the rumors that Bloom was eyeing a move for Anthony Rizzo, it felt like his time was done with the Red Sox for now. We all know how that played out and since the failed move for the former Cub, Dalbec is actually outplaying the Yankee infielder by a wide margin. Not something I would’ve expected all the way back in July but hindsight is a hell of a thing.
I think it’s safe to say that thanks to the quality of play that he’s giving Boston right now he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Boston Strong said it best on Twitter last night during the game, you absolutely have to find a place for Bobby in the lineup somewhere every night. Between his glove and his bat you simply can’t give him a day off right now.
It’s been one hell of a ride this season seeing him go from potential Rookie of the Year to disappointment, and now the team hero in the span of just a few months. One of the most beautiful things in sports is when an unlikely hero emerges when their team needs them the most, and that’s what we have here. Though he was once a massive liability, he’s now an asset that Alex Cora cannot go without.